YumaBev has Parkinson's Disease and a sense of humor! Funny stories and helpful tips about her life with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease. Come laugh with her as she fights Parkinson's Disease with humor.

Total Pageviews

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Living in a RV, what is it like?

For 16 years, my Wonderful Husband and I lived year-round in an RV (recreational vehicle) and traveled all over the USA and Canada. I would still be doing it, if I did not have Parkinson's Disease. Many people have expressed curiosity about RV's, mostly from other countries, but several Americans as well. So here is the story...

Yuma Bev cooking eggs

We bought our first RV in 1991, a 21-foot long Motorhome (motorhome means that it has it's own engine and you drive it like a car) and took off on a three week trip. There wasn't much room in it, you had to make a bed out of the sofa every night and you couldn't pass each other in the hallway, but after two weeks, we didn't want to go home, EVER, so, we traded it in on a 34-foot Motorhome and kept on traveling.

The 34 foot motorhome

This RV was small inside as well, but it had a full size bed in it (you had about 6 inches on either side to walk around) and a sofa and dinette, so we thought we were in heaven. We took this Motorhome from Florida to Colorado to Arizona and back all in one summer. Living in an RV requires a very good sense of humor.

Several years later, we got rid of the Motorhome and from then on, we had a variety of RV's that you towed behind or placed in the bed of a truck. Sometimes, we would buy a very small one to take a specific trip and then sell it after we were done, it all depended on where we were going, but we lived in an RV of some kind or another year round.

YumaBev and the truck camper

Aliner

We spent 5 months in the little Aliner above and 4 months in the truck camper! The last RV we owned was the biggest and we towed it behind a big pick up truck, however, it was still only about 200 square feet of living space! For most RVers in America, this would be called a weekender, just big enough for 2 or 3 days, but we lived in it for 7 years! I did 99% of the driving and could back it into the tightest spaces.

Truck and camper parked lakeside in Idaho

It was still very small inside, as the pictures below will show

and to give you some perspective, there is a photo of me standing by an inside door of the RV and one of me standing by an inside door of my house. See how much narrower the RV one is?

YumaBev by RV door

YumaBev by house door

As you can see, the space is quite narrow in the bedroom and bathroom and as my Parkinson's symptoms progressed, it became increasingly difficult for me to manage without constantly bumping into things. The entry steps to get in the camper were tricky as well and I didn't feel comfortable towing the RV anymore, so we gave up that life and started a new one. Adapt, adapt, adapt.

Living room and sofa

TV across from sofa and hallway door

Bathroom sink

Tub and toilet

Dining area right next to sofa

Bedroom area

Kitchen area

Do I miss it? Yes, very much.

Clicking on the colored words will open a new window and take you to a different story or link.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!

4 comments:

Too bad that Parkinson's is keeping you from traveling. But I'm sure that you didn't regret living in your RV. Getting the chance to travel to prominent places in the North American continent is a blessing worthy to be treasured for a lifetime.

We call them camper vans over here! When my boys were little we used to drive down to cornwall in the summer and stay in a caravan usually on a farm. The boys loved it and used to watch the sheep being sheared! The last few years we have been to Spain for our holiday . Last year before I was diagnosed but was having symptoms I found the heat really helped with my aches and pains. Xxxx

One of the Top Parkinson's Blogs of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018

Sherryl's YouTube Channel

Sherryl Klingelhofer, from Tillamook Oregon is a Master Fitness Trainer. Her Father had Parkinson's, so she developed certain exercises to help him. Now she makes videos of Parkinson's Specific exercises to help others with Parkinson's. Here is the link to her YouTube channel.

All about YumaBev

My name is Bev Ribaudo and I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at age 47, but my symptoms started in my 30's. Humor comes naturally to me and a little disease like Parkinson's can't take it away. I have been married since 1985 to the most Wonderful Husband in the whole world. I like Photography and Karaoke.

IF you think you might have Parkinson's, check out these sites.

Yuma AZ Parkinson's Disease Support Group

The Parkinson's Disease Support Group meets the first Monday of each month (except Sept) at 9 am at Daybreakers Cafe 10800 N Frontage Rd, Yuma AZ 85367 (I-8, exit #12 Fortuna Blvd, go north, on left, behind the truck stop). Everyone welcome, including care-partners and families of people with Parkinson's. For more info, contact Beverly at 928-246-2876 or via email at YumaBev@gmail.com